Automatic switch stand



July 17, 1928. 1,677,388 w. M. GRAY v AUTOMATIC SWITCH STAND v Fueduams, 1927 I 2 sheets-sheaf 1 N ll 'IIIIIIIIII QWWM July 17,1928. 1,677,388

W. M. GRAY AUTOMATIC SWITCHv STAND Filed Jan. 3. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented'July 17, 1928.

LIMITED STATES tenses? are;

WALLACE M. GRAY, or CINCINNATI, OHIO, AssrGNoB. TOTHE AMEitIoaN VA VE AND METER GOMIPANY, or CINCINNATI, 0310; A co rosATIoNoF OHIO,

AUTOMATIC swrrcn sTANn.

Application filed January 3, 1927. Serial 'No. 158,538.

My invention relates to improvements in" automatic switch stands for railway tracks- One of its objects is to provide an improved switch stand adapted to be thrownby hand,

and also adapted to be thrown automatically by a train. passing across or over the. switch in one direction. Another object is to provide an improved simple and reliable apparatus for the above purpose. Another object is to provide an automatic switch. stand in which the manually operatedlever is not affected or moved when the switch is automatically thrown by the train. An-

- other object is to provide an improvedten- 'sioning means or arrangement whereby the resilient strain to be overcome when the switch is thrown manually is of moderate degree, and the switch may be readily thrown by an operator of moderate strength.

Another object is to confine the resilient tension upon the switch within predetermined limits of movement of the parts, taking the strain beyondsuch limits upon the rigid casing of the switch stand. My invention also comprises certain details of form and arrangement, and combination of components, all of which will be fully set forth in the description of the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a central horizontal section through an automatic switch stand embodying my improvements, taken through the casing on line 11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the same taken on line '2'2 of Fig. 1, and

showing the switch lever partly thrown.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in central section of a shaft through which the switch is manually actuated, detached.

Fig; 5 is an end elevation of the member shown in Fig. 4. I

Fig. 6 is a "side elevation of the'vertical yoke shaft detached. Fig. '7is a side elevation of the cam roller and its mounting member detached.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment of my inven-- t-ion' in which 1.5 represents the lower half of a switch stand casing and 16. represents the upper half of said casing. The casing member 15 is provided with plates 18 by meansof which it is supported upon railway ties and rigidlyfmounted relative to the track and switch members. The two sections of the leasing .are connectedmeans of bolts 19. i

A vertical shaft 20 having-a loop shaped section 21 is journaled near its lower end inwa journal bearing 22 carried'by the casing section 15 and is journaled near its upper end in a journal bearing 23 carried by the upper casing member 16. .Atthe lower'end of the shaft-.20 is rigidly attached thereto a crank :arm 24 provided with a crank pinactuating member 26.

Arocker arm 27 is pivotally attached to the loop shaped section 21'of the shaft 20 by:means of stud shafts 28 and:29,- so that the rocker arm 27 is located within the loop of said shaft 20 and has a limitedpivotal.

together by i 25 to which is piv'ota'lly attached a switch movement upon thestud shafts 28 and 29. 7

relative thereto. A cam roller 30'is journaled upon a pin 31' which spans the forked end 32 of a shaft 33 which is journaled in a journal bearing in the rocker arm 27, and the end thrust of the shaft 33 is resisted by means of anannular bearing face 34 on the shaft'f33 engaging an annular bearing face '35 on the rocker'arm 27. 1

A horizontal shaft 37 is provided atone end with a tubular drum 38 and a transverse cam face or cam channel 39. The exterior of the drum 38 servesas :a journal support for one end of the shaft'37, being mounted in a journal bearing 40 carried in two parts by the casing sections 15 and 16. The 0pposite end of the shaft 37- is provided with 1 polygonal "faces 41 which are designed to seat in and move endwise relative toa cor responding polygonal faced recess or bore in a. sleeve or collar 42.

vided with aseries of notches or recesses a 46, anyone of which 'is adapted to be en-i gaged by a screw or bolt 47 which'is threaded into the outer end of the collar 44, and

thereby serves to lock the sleeve 43 rigidly to its adjusted position relative to the collar 44. "The outer end of the shaft 37 projects outsideof thecasing sections 15 and 16 and outside of the collar 43. The inner The collar 42 is] non-rotatablerelative to the shaft 37 and I of a coiled spring 51 seats, while the opposite end of said spring seats against the interior of the end section of the drum 38.

A manually operable lever or crank arm 52 is rigidly attached to the outer end of the sleeve 42 outside of the sleeve 43, by means of which the shaft 37 and the arm 52 are adapted to be rotated through one hundred and'eighty degrees from a substantially horizontal position at one side of the casing to a substantially horizontal position at the opposite side of the casing. p

The cam roller normally occupies a position at one end of the cam, recess 39 substantially as shown in Fig. 2 with opposite side faces of said roller in engagement with the raised edges 53 and 54 of the cam recess 39.. This position of the cam roller 30 in the recess 39 and in engagement in the channel between the edges 53 and 54 provents the shaft 33 which carries the roller 30 from rotating in its bearing in the crank arm 27 except when the horizontal shaft 37 and the vertical shaft 20 are. relatively rotated, whereupon the shaft 33 rotates in its bearing sufliciently to permit such relative rotation of the shafts37 and 20.

When the shaft 37 is rotated a half turn through operation of the hand lever 52, the roller 30 retains its position at one end of the channel 39 while the shaft 33 rotates in its bearing'in the rocker, arm 27. and at the 'same time causes the rocker arm 27 to describe a partial rotation upon its centers 28 and 29, which movement of the roller 30 horizontal shaft 37 the cam roller 30 rides and rocker arm 27 causes the vertical shaft, 20, to rotate through an arc of ninety degrees thereby shifting the crank arm 24 and crank, pin 25 and connecting member 26 and with them the switch members connected to and actuated by the connecting member 26, to open or close the switch, depending upon the direction of rotation of the vertical shaft 20.

. In the event that the switch actuating 20 through ninety degrees, while the horizontal shaft 37 and hand lever 52 remain stationary. In order that the vertical shaft 20 and members connecting said shaft with the switch may move without movement of the from one end of the cam groove 39 to the other end thereof during the locomotive driven partial rotation of the vertical shaft 20, climbing an inclined face 55 until the means to resilientlytension said horizontal the reverse as the case may be.

axis of the shaft 37 has been reached and then riding down an inclined face -56 to the opposite end of the cam groove 39,- or v Duringthis movement of the cam roller 30 over the high central portion of the groove 39 the horizontal shaft, 37 the drum 38 and cam 39 move endwise due to a yielding of the spring 51, and after the high point of the cam has been reached, return to their normal position. A nut 58 and washer 59 at the outer end of the shaft 37 engage the outer end of the sleeve 42 to form a positive stop and limit the endwise movement of the shaft 37. The opposite ends of the cam groove 39 are curvedxtoward the roller 30 to form pockets to limit the movement of the cam roller and retain it in operative relation to the cam 39. The tension of the spring 51 upon the shaft 37 may be increased or decreased by adjusting the threaded sleeve 43 endwise relative to the sleeve 44. When the washer 59 engages the end of the sleeve 42, further movement of the shaft 37 towar-d the shaft 20. under tension of the spring 51 is prevented, thereby relieving the cam roller 30 and rocker arm 27' from excessive strain or tension. The arm 52 may be locked in position without interfering" with the automatic operation of the switch. Theapparatus herein shown. and described is capable of considerable modification within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is: 1. An automatic switch stand comprising a casing, a vertical shaft journaled tosaid casing and operatively connected to actuate a switch, a horizontal shaft journaled to said casing and movable endwise relative to said casing, meansto resiliently tension said horizontal shaft against movement inone direction endwise, means to positively limit the movement of said horizontal shaft endwise in the opposite direction, a cam carried by said horizontal shaft, a rocker arm pivotally attached to said vertical shaft upon an axle transversely to said vertical shaft, a cam roller carried by said rocker arm and held resiliently in engagement with the cam of said horizontal shaft, whereby said vertical shaft may be actuated through the switch by a locomotive to shiftthe switch to open position independently of rotation of said horizontal shaft, and whereby said vertical sh aft may be manually actuated to shift the switch in either direction through rotation of said horizontal shaft.

2. An automatic switch stand comprising a switch stand casing, a vertical shaft journaled to said casing and operatively connected to actuate or be actuated bya switch, a horizontal shaft journaled to said casing and movable endwise relative to said casing,

shaft against movement in one direction endwise thereof, means to positively limit the endwise movement of said shaft in the opposite direction, a rocker arm pivotally attached to said vertical shaft, a cam attached to and rotatable with said horizontal shaft and in engagement with the free end of said rocker arm to connect said horizontal shaft and vertical shaft in operative relation and at the same time to permit said vertical shaft to rotate independently of rotation of said horizontal shaft through passage of the free end of said rocker arm across a high point on the face of said cam.

3. An automatic switch stand comprising a switch stand casing, a pair of shafts journaled in hearings. in said casing and arranged transversely one to the other, a cam carried by one of said shafts, a rocker arm journaled to the other of said shafts and having its free end in engagement with said cam and means to resiliently hold said cam and rocker arm in engagement, whereby rotation of said cam carr in shaft will cause said rocker arm carrying shaft to rotate, while rotation of said rocker arm carrying shaft will cause the free end of said rocker arm to ride in one direction or another over an intermediate high point on said cam rocker arm journaledto said switch actuating shaft, a manually operable shaft journaled to said casing and arranged transversely to said switch actuating shaft, a

cam at one end of said manually operable shaft, a spring operable axially of said manually operable shaft to resiliently hold said cam in engagement with the free end of rocker arm journaled to said switch actuat-.

ing shaft, a manually operable shaft jour naled to said casing and arranged transversely to said switch actuating shaft, and having a limited movement axially thereof, a cam at one end of said manually operable shaft, a first sleeve mounted upon the opposite end of said manually operable shaft to rotate therewith and movable endwise thereon, a second sleeve adjustable endwise relative to said casing and in which said first sleeve is rotatably supported, a cam at one end of said manually operable shaft, a spring interposed between said cam and said first sleeve to adjustahly and resiliently hold said cam in engagement with the free end of said rocker arm, means to positively limit the movement of said manually operable shaft endwise thereof, and means exterior-1y of said shaft to partially rotate said manually operable shaft.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

VALLACE M. GRAY. 

